Canadian man's pocketknife helps him survive grizzly attack

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A Canadian man biking through a remote part of British Columbia late last month used a pocketknife to stave off a potentially fatal grizzly bear attack, according to reports.

Colin Dowler, 45, was traversing a path in Power River, B.C. – about 185 miles north of Vancouver – on July 30 when he encountered a large male grizzly bear, CBC reported.

“I wasn’t really sure what to do about the situation,” Dowler said. “I largely stood there, and let the grizzly keep walking up towards me.”

When the bear was too close for comfort, Dowler tried to nudge him away with a hiking pole, BBC reported. A brief tug-of-war ensued before Dowler threw his bike at the animal, the report said.

The bear then grabbed Dowler by the stomach and dragged him to a ditch about 50 feet away. Dowler said he tried to play dead as the animal bit into his arm, foot, and thigh.

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“It sounded like it was grating my bones up,” Dowler recalled. That’s when Dowler pulled out his pocketknife and stabbed the bear in the neck.

“It let go of me immediately. I wasn’t really sure if it was dying faster than I was," Dowler said.

Dowler said he made a tourniquet out of his shirtsleeve, recovered his bike, and rode nearly five miles to a logging camp before collapsing. Five men were at the camp and administered first aid.

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“They’re truly the heroes of the story because there’s no way I would have made it without [them],” he said.

Dowler was flown to a Vancouver hospital where he still recovering from non-life-threatening injuries, CBC reported.